Jordansvoice wrote:Hey there!
To cut to the chase: Are the UFX+ converters just as good as the newest Apollo models? Keep reading for context.
I'm a VERY happy long term RME UFX owner here 
. I've had my UFX since 2013 and it's been rock solid. I recently added a UAD Apollo Twin X for tracking purposes only (to take advantage of unison pres, etc). It's UAD's lack of remote control (I live and die by my ARC USB) and routing features in their console software that has kept me a hardcore RME user.
When mixing/editing/playing back audio from my Mac, it's all going through my RME Fireface UFX through my Focal Solo 6be monitors or one of my studio headphones.
Since my job revolves around audio and performing, my ears have become incredibly sharp over the years where I can hear the most subtle of details and differences. I actually do a lot and audio tweaking and troubleshooting for raw voiceover audio. Which requires intense listening and audio discernment skills.
Anyways, out of curiosity, I've been A/B'ing the headphone outputs between my Apollo Twin X and my Fireface UFX using both high fidelity voiceover and fully mixed songs. I'm using many pairs of high quality headphones like HD 650's, Neumann NDH 20's, and more.
With my now very trained ears, using the same headphones, I can hear a very noticeable difference between the Apollo Twin X and Fireface UFX. The Twin X has more fidelity and depth all around. It's not HUGE but it's something I could use in my professional work. The Apollo sounded had tighter, more focused bass. More open and clear mids. And the reverb tails on the highs are the biggest giveaway that the Apollo Twin X, to my ears, is a level-up compared to my trusty, much older UFX.
Which leads me to my dilemma: The UFX+ was released in 2016. I know the converters in the UFX+ will be better than my old UFX. However, the latest Apollo units are even newer than the UFX+.
I could really use and need the clarity of newer converters for the critical audio work I do. But I'm afraid if I buy a UFX+, and it being over 5 years old now, that RME is going to release a new flagship model soon. OR if RME doesn't release anything new soon, that the "older" converters of the UFX+ won't stack up to what I already have in my Apollo Twin X.
Would love to hear any insight/advice from anyone. Thanks!!
[ Quote CrisbyChips: https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 94#p170494 ]
Thanks CrispyChips, you hit the nail on the head again. That's what I keep saying, whether it's computer tuning for audio or putting together a good recording solution. Like Formula 1, it comes down to taking all the important aspects into account. RME solutions are of high quality, but still affordable. Drivers and software are of high quality and lag free. It was a good decision from RME to use TotalMix FX for all products since over 20 years, by this the software reached a high maturity and this for every new product since day one.
One option for you would be to upgrade your already excellent RME UFX with the latest ADI-2 Pro FS R BE.
How to do that, you can read here in my blog article: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … our-Setup/
However, there is also a better option, since the UFX has also been optimized in the meantime.
Ideal is the combination of UFX+ and ADI-2 Pro, you can see the advantages of the new flagship interface UFX+/UFX II compared to the older UFX here: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … 8-RME-UFX/
If you need a brief overview about technical details, then you can look them up in my Excel here:
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … B-MADIfac/
Direct link to the Excel file here: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/index.ph … 0-08-xlsx/
If you think you don't need so many channels / MADI. The little bit more money doesn't make the difference and please consider the following advantages to you, that the UFX+ offers to you:
With the UFX+ you have two more connection possibilities to the computer, actually even three, because the UFX+ supports USB3 and Thunderbolt as well as the possibility to be operated as a 30-channel interface without MADI via USB2, if it had to be. This gives you a wide range of possibilities and you can use what works best the the current system, that you have.
The new MADIface driver uses different USB transfer modes, so that not only the high number of channels can be transferred without problems, but also the minimum ASIO buffersize could be lowered to 32 samples, as it is the case with the PCI/PCIe cards.
Additionally interesting for you could be to use not needed MADI channels for e.g. loopback recording if all other channels are needed / in use.
If you want to have the lowest RTL (Round Trip Latencies), you can also use Thunderbolt, whereby this driver offers the possibility to use the pitch function compared to the MADIface driver.
I also started with an UFX and a RayDAT some years ago, then used the UFX as preamp in front of a RayDAT because I had the idea, that a PCIe based communication would maybe allow me to use smaller ASIO buffer sizes under Windows. Later I learned that this is not necessarily the case. And at that time I was lacking the experience, that you also need to consider operational aspects for your environment. Having to configure two different recording interfaces in one solution (UFX and RayDAT in this case) can sometimes become challenging, it was the setup of this blog article: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … ME-RayDAT/
But it was a good setup and a useful experience, by this I learned, that RME USB and Firewire based solutions can be as stable, even at double speed, see this performance test here. I do not have such large projects, but I wanted to find out, at what point I would have to expect audio loss with extremely small ASIO buffer sizes. Most you learn about your environment in high performance situations, see here: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … s-de-en/).
Currently I have a really fantastic combination of UFX+, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE and ARC USB which can't be topped by anything else. And through MADI you can scale this system and even build a mobile rig for recording and I am enjoying the luxury to be able to do quick recording sessions by using DURec: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … -DURec-DE/
My current setup as an example: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/index.ph … Setup-jpg/
My main use cases with DURec and evolution of recording environment: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … Rec-EN-DE/
By getting UFX+ and ADI-2 Pro FS R BE in combination you will get a winning team where every aspect of recording gear has been fine tuned by RME over the last decades.
- UFX+ as a solid base for your recording environment
- ADI-2 Pro as an ideal AD/DA converter for Main Monitors and Phones with rich and innovative features that you can't find nowhere else.
If you have any remaining question, don't hesitate to ask.
P.S.: I have no Mac, but also for MAC an USB3 / THunderbolt based setup like described will have at the end of the day the same advantages to you and Thunderbolt under Mac can be regarded as very easy to use and stable.
BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14